Skull Cupcakes

Looking for a spooky treat? These Skull Cupcakes are fun, creepy, and delicious—perfect for Halloween parties or a festive surprise!

Looking to add a spooky twist to your next batch of cupcakes? These Skull Cupcakes are the perfect combination of fun and fright!

Whether you’re hosting a Halloween party or just want to surprise friends and family with a creepy, delicious treat, this recipe has you covered. With simple steps to create edible fondant skulls and a cupcake base that’s easy to customize, you’ll have a show-stopping dessert that tastes as good as it looks.

From the metallic skull toppers to the swirl of vibrant frosting, these cupcakes are sure to impress and add a festive flair to any spooky celebration. Let’s dive into the details!

Equipment Needed

• Skull fondant mold – You can find molds online or at craft stores like Michaels. If you don’t have a mold, you could shape simple skulls by hand or use a different themed mould.
• Small paint brush – Any small brush will work to apply cornstarch to the mould. Just make sure it’s food-safe.
• Baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• Black and white cupcake liners
• 1 large piping bag with a wide star tip
• Medium cookie scoop

Ingredients & Substitutions

Silver fondant: This gives the skulls a metallic look, but you can substitute with any color fondant to match your theme. White fondant can also be painted with edible silver or gold dust.

Cornstarch: Used to prevent sticking when working with fondant. You can also use powdered sugar as a substitute.

Cake mix: You can swap this for any boxed cake mix flavour like vanilla, chocolate, or funfetti, depending on your preference.

Eggs: Use room temperature eggs for best results.

Milk: You can use almond milk, oat milk, or any other non-dairy milk if needed. Buttermilk also works well for a richer flavour.

Butter: You can substitute with margarine, vegan butter, or even vegetable oil.

Powdered sugar: No substitutes needed, but if you’re out of powdered sugar, you can blend granulated sugar in a blender until fine.

Cream: Substitute with any non-dairy milk (like almond or oat milk) for a lighter frosting, or use coconut cream for extra richness.

Vanilla extract: You can use other extracts like almond, coconut, or even a little lemon juice for a different flavour twist.

Food coloring: You can use any gel food colouring to match your theme. Gel is best as it doesn’t alter the consistency of the frosting.

Sprinkles: Feel free to use any sprinkles you have on hand or omit them entirely.

Skull Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Fondant Skulls

• 4.4 oz silver fondant (found at Michaels)
• Cornstarch (to help mold the fondant)

Confetti Cupcakes

• 1 box Cherry Chip cake mix
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup unsalted sweet cream butter, softened

Vanilla Frosting

• 2 cups unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1 ttablespoon pure vanilla extract
• Black and neon pink gel food colouring
• Black and silver variety of sprinkles
• Pink skull sprinkles

Directions:

Fondant Skulls

Prepare the fondant: Remove the silver fondant from its package and place it on a cutting board. Dust your hands with cornstarch and knead the fondant until it becomes soft and easy to work with.

Prep the mold: Dust the inside of the skull fondant mold with cornstarch using a small paintbrush.

Shape the skulls: Pinch off about 1 ½ tablespoons of fondant and press it firmly into the mold.

Let the skulls set: Allow the fondant to sit in the mold for 3 minutes, then carefully peel back the mold to release the skull.

Dry the skulls: Place each fondant skull on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat until you have 18 skulls. Let them dry on the counter overnight.

Confetti Cupcakes

Preheat the oven: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with black and white cupcake liners.

Make the batter: In a standing mixer, combine the Cherry Chip cake mix, eggs, milk, and softened butter. Beat until the mixture is smooth and fully combined.

Fill the liners: Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling each one about ¾ full.

Bake: Bake for 21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely before decorating.

Vanilla Frosting

Make the frosting: Using a standing mixer, beat together the softened butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract until the frosting is smooth and forms stiff peaks.

Separate and color the frosting: Transfer 1 ½ cups of frosting to a separate bowl and add neon pink gel food coloring. Color the remaining frosting with black food coloring.

Frost the cupcakes: Use a medium cookie scoop to place a mound of black frosting on top of each cupcake. Turn the cupcake upside down and gently press it onto a flat surface to flatten the frosting into a thick disk.

Chill the cupcakes: Place the frosted cupcakes in the freezer for 10 minutes to set the frosting.

Add sprinkles: Combine the black and silver sprinkles in a bowl. After chilling, roll each frosted cupcake in the sprinkle mixture to coat the frosting.

Prepare the piping bag: Fill one side of a large piping bag with the pink frosting and the other side with the black frosting.

Pipe the swirl: Pipe a swirl of frosting onto the center of each cupcake.

Add the skulls: Press a fondant skull into the center of the frosting swirl to complete the decoration.